When it comes to trashy movies, there are generally two different categories. The first is the trashy movie that knows it’s a trashy movie, while the second and much, much worst class is the trashy movie that has no awareness of its trashiness. Luckily, Obsessed falls into the former group and builds to the climax that everyone who’s anyone wants to see. It also manages to reach the inexorable apex of its story without being boring along the way, which certainly earns it some points.
Directed by Steve Shill, who has worked on some pretty terrific HBO programs, Obsessed picks up on the scenario from Fatal Attraction somewhat and builds it to a knock-down-drag-out fight in the last sequences. This is a movie that is all about the build and all about the tension of what will happen and it uses every resource imaginable to do so.
Idris Elba is good as the happily married Derek Charles. He’s a successful executive vice president of a successful company and he’s living the dream. Derek’s marriage to Sharon Charles (Beyoncé Knowles) is a happy one and their child, Kyle, is the centre of their universe. As one might expect, everything changes when temp Lisa Sheridan (Ali Larter) steps into the picture. She meets Derek in an elevator and instantly becomes envious of what he has.
Lisa obsesses over Derek, using all of her assets to get at him in any possible way. She aims to seduce him initially, but the obsession grows and she begins to want to be in his life as a permanent fixture. Derek is having none of it, however, and this puts a significant strain on her plan. She works hard to get at him, drugging him at a business retreat and taking advantage of him. This leads to difficulty between Derek and Sharon, but the truth eventually comes out and leads to Sharon “asserting herself.”
One doesn’t go see a popcorn flick like Obsessed to ruminate about the nuances of the performances or the direction. Shill does work some nice tricks, though, and his approach to the material is clean and unfussy. He builds objects well, like a drink with a drug in it or a glass table, and knows how to draw our attention to the right places.
The match-up between Larter and Knowles is every bit as good as it should be, invoking every piece of cheesy fight cliché to get the job done in a sequence that literally tears the house apart. The two women really go at it and it works as a fun, thrilling sequence that ends as it should. It is the main event of the picture and Shill delivers the goods with a combination of timing and over-the-top glee. It’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
Obsessed is really a simple motion picture. Everybody holds up their end of the bargain and nobody comes up short, including the supporting cast. This is a movie that doesn’t stretch, doesn’t move mountains and doesn’t overreach. It certainly knows its boundaries and Shill does well to work within his limits, taking few risks and delivering an entertaining, satisfying guilty pleasure of a picture that boasts a really cool fight scene to close things off aptly.
The film doesn’t bore along the way, either, and it’s fun to watch Larter attempt to scoop Elba’s character with a variety of sneaky attempts. She plays a good villainous woman here and matches up well with Knowles’ assertive but happy Sharon. There are also some good early moments that allow each actress to try their hand at subtle digs. Overall, Obsessed is just good fun. It’s a good matinée or drive-in picture that goes down easy with a soda and a nice big tub of popcorn.
5.9/10
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